Red Bull today finally confirmed the worst kept secret of the season; that Daniel Ricciardo will replace Mark Webber as team mate to Sebastian Vettel next season.

The team says this deal, which puts the 24 year old from Perth Australia into a winning car with a great opportunity to make a name for himself is a ‘multi-year agreement.’

It was important for the Red Bull young driver programme that another graduate hit the top of the ladder as it hasn’t produced a world beater since Vettel in 2008/9. Many young drivers have fallen by the wayside since then.

According to Toro Rosso boss Franz Tost, “When Dietrich Mateschitz acquired the team that became Toro Rosso, his stated aim was that it should be the final step in the training of young drivers, with the eventual goal of graduating to the “senior” team.

“Daniel’s move thus vindicates the work of the Red Bull Young Driver Programme and also proves that we at Toro Rosso have given him a good racing education.”

Ricciardo drove for the team at the Young Drivers Test at Silverstone in July and impressed with his consistency. His speed was already known from previous young driver tests and from his performances with Toro Rosso.

At the recent Belgian Grand Prix, Webber told Australian Network 10 TV that the decision was already made, but Ricciardo insisted that he had yet to be informed, although he hinted that he was feeling quite confident he’d done enough to get the seat.

Only this evening has team boss Christian Horner confirmed it with a short statement.

“It’s fantastic to confirm Daniel as the team’s race driver for 2014, ” said Horner. “He’s a very talented youngster, he’s committed, he’s got a great attitude and in the end it was a very logical choice for us to choose Daniel. He joined the Red Bull Junior Team in 2008 and we’ve seen in his junior career in Formula 3 and Renault World Series that he’s capable of winning races and championships.

“He’s stood out in each of these categories and we’ve followed his progress with great interest. He’s got all the attributes that are required to drive for our team: he’s got a great natural ability, he’s a good personality and a great guy to work with. Daniel knows what the team expects from him; he’ll learn quickly and it’s very much a medium to long term view that we’re taking in developing him. The seat within the team is a wonderful opportunity and I think he’s going to be a big star of the future.”

Adrian Newey commented, “Since Mark announced his retirement, Christian and I have been looking carefully at the driver market, along with Helmut Marko and Dietrich Mateschitz. We could have taken an experienced driver, somebody guaranteed to deliver to a relatively known level, or equally we could take on a much younger driver in the hope that they’ll develop to a very high level. We looked at the latter option and concluded that of the younger drivers, Daniel is the most promising.

“From Red Bull’s point of view that also fits well because the driver that Christian and I feel is the most promising is part of the Red Bull young driver programme. The decision actually reminded me a little bit of a similar situation we had when I was at Williams. Nigel Mansell was leaving and we needed someone alongside Alain Prost. We could stick with Riccardo Patrese or take a punt on a young driver called Damon Hill who was our test driver at the time. I think it’s good to bring young blood in and give promising drivers a chance.”

“I feel very, very good at the moment, ” said Ricciardo. “And obviously there’s a lot of excitement running through me. Since joining F1 in 2011, I hoped this would happen and over time the belief in me has grown; I had some good results and Red Bull has decided that this is it, so it’s a good time. Next year I’ll be with a Championship-winning team, arguably the best team, and will be expected to deliver. I’m ready for that.

“I’m not here to run around in tenth place, I want to get the best results for myself and the team. I would like to thank the team for giving me the opportunity to show what I can do. I know the team quite well already since being its reserve driver in 2010, which should make the transition easier. It will be a great challenge to be up against Sebastian Vettel, I’m looking forward to that. My aim is to finish this season as strong as possible, for myself and Scuderia Toro Rosso. Then, once the off-season is here, I’ll be fully focussed on next year and the next stage of my career.”

293 comments

If it was Ricciardo all along, why announce this late? It is obvious that RB chased a few others and that did not work out as they would like it to be. Now they paint a picture that they always wanted Ricciardo as a long term prospect. They have to show to the world that it is they who made a decision rather than accepting "leftovers".

Rubbish. They took advantage of the situation to mess with the psychology of other drivers and teams, and distract them from car development and driver negotiations. It is silly season after all, and the No.2 Red Bull is the hottest seat in the championship. It was a foregone conclusion Dan would get the job because he's fast, compliant and loyal. Kimi and 'Nando's self-centred hotheadedness would rip the team apart - the last thing it would want.

Way to miss the point. Red Bull generated huge amounts of free brand publicity during the summer break when there was supposedly nothing of F1 interest to report. At the same time they may well have created some internal dissension within the teams of two of Vettel's leading competitors. Definately a win/win situation for the Bulls - well played!

After all, with other drivers in the title fight having this in the background and teams like lotus having to potentially throw more money at drivers to keep them, so less money to spend on development.

I would too.

especially if the guy I planned on hiring wasn't going anywhere anyway.

There's a good (pay walled) piece over on Autosport talking about it being a ploy to unsettle rival teams. i.e. the longer negotiations seemingly drag out the more tension it creates between Ferrari and Alonso and Lotus and Kimi.

As many commentators, here, have pointed out, in previous articles, many infrastructure changes had already been made, most tellingly, the media packaging had already been changed to include Ricciardo.

This indicates Red Bull did not necessarily want the best driver for the job, but a driver to fit into a specific 'not-rocking-the-boat' number 2, to support their star package.

Is it marketing driving driver selection, over capability?

Could very well include the unsettling of rival team, as I think many will agree, Christian Horner seemed to be enjoying the vicegrip on the media attention over the summer break, and in retrospect, was unrelenting in psychological tactics to undermine rival teams.

Well, we'll see how it goes.

I wouldn't be surprised seeing Webber go before the end of this year, unfortunately.

Sebee: in response (thank you for the insightful question): when has it NOT been harsh towards Webber? As I've stated several times, in these pages, the statistical anomolies with Webber RB car issues, that adversely affected the car's performance, regardless of who was driving it, versus the same for the Vettel RB, is highly improbable.

However that may be, it seems like Webber has the respect at the top of the RB empire; so I'd say 50:50 to Webber going early; the RB drivers' championship 2013 is statistically high probability now, as is the manufacturers' title, where the bulk of the risk (in my opinion) would be, if they changed drivers early.

To perfectly clear, I do NOT think Ricciardo is a match for Webber; if he gets similar frequency of car issues (which he may well NOT get), then his results will be below Webber's.

That would be a harsh was to say bye to Webber and would do little for fan sentiment toward RBR. Obviously the goal of RBR effort here is to appeal to the customers, and Webber is well liked and respected.

Where do you put the odds? I think perhaps only if WDC and WCC are wrapped up early, and only if Webber can be convinced to convince us it's his decision to step aside. Or perhaps if Webber does something "shameful" like not move over. 🙂

Disagreed. Deal was done and decision made a while ago, hence Mark Webbers comments at Belgium, but they had to wait for the final signoff from the BIG Red Bull boss Mr M, which didnt happen until this week.

No - I think he has more potential. He is less emotional and more measured in his approach and will take the time to develop himself to become a world champ. Sure, he is clearly going to be a number 2 for a couple of years so he can take the time to support Vettel but also fully establish himself within the team, pick up good finishes (maybe even a win or two when Vettel has an off day) and be in the prime position for when (if) Vettel's long rumoured move to Ferrari happens. Then he can pick up the team leader mantle and show us what he is really made of.

Sebee: as you know from our other discussions, I am a big fan of Webber; he's my favourite, after the Iceman; the Iceman, only because he's the fastest, and truest (in my opinion) racer.

I know, I know (I can already hear the indignant Lewy and Alonso Media Corporation shill arguing), advantage at the top is slim and on a race-by-race, possibly even moment by moment basis.

The only thing we really know at the end of the day is that one driver has got the best out of his car in the most situations in the past four years, and regardless of the doubters, he's got the most out of his car for the last four years.

Dietrich Mateschitz runs Red Bull. Not Marko and certainly not Vettel. If it was Vettel Webber would have got the boot post 2010, yet here we are in 2013 and Webber is still there.

Interesting that Red Bull appear to be taking a Ferrari style route and having one driver who is the obvious team leader. You have to say that it has served Ferrari very well in recent years, Massa letting Alonso past, taking a gear box pen and trying out that 'alternative strategy' in race conditions has enabled them to be in the mix towards the end of the season. I think if McLaren had done that last year then Lewis would have taken the championship, and I'm sure Alonso would have taken it in 2007 if McLaren hadn't spent nearly as much time trying to shaft Fernando as they did on trying to win!

All that said it's a shame that Vettel won't have a top top team mate alongside him (unless Ricciardo is actually that good - and we can't tell because of his machinery). I do tend to think most drivers are fairly evenly matched though. Lewis vs FA, then JB (who was fairly equal with Rubens) and now NR (outpaced by Webber @ Williams) suggests there isn't much between any of these guys.

Not sure about Hamilton last year winning - Australia would have been one of the few races where the order could have been easily reversed and Hamilton benefit. Hamilton's McLaren failing several times and pit stop errors won't be removed by team orders.

My feeling is Ricciardo won't be too far off in one lap pace. Over a stint versus Vettel might be more of a challenge.

The psychological impact of being treated as a number 1 would have seen Lewis lock that title in. Instead for more than half the season there was competition on setup with Button and consistent (accurate) rumours that he was going to leave for Mercedes or Red Bull.

Ha ha power doesn't correspond to job title but unfortunately power doesn't trump a little thing called a legal contract. If they had tried to show Webber the door I'm sure he'd have responded with 'see you in court'.

And? The situation has evolved. They first clashed in 2010 when both were merely promising drivers, and neither had won a title. They rubbed along well enough until the multi21 incident earlier this year. Now Seb is a 3 time WC, he's a marketing dream, particularly for Red Bull in Germany. He currently holds a huge card in the drivers market. Okay Kimi appears to be prostituting himself around even F1 team with a sniff of the podium, and don't get me wrong he's a quality driver, but he isn't part of the holy trinity of Hamilton, Alonso, and Vettel. Seb knows that he is in a very strong position at RBR these days. He's a triple champ, he holds great sway in many corporate boardroom in terms of his marketing poetntial and he knows that the other two A league drivers are both tied into contracts with other teams.

Vettel runs RBR. The fact that Webber has only had single year contracts is irrelevant. He crossed swords with Seb earlier in the year and now he's gone. We're told it was his choice, face saving for a proud and well respected driver. Schuey has Vettels ear and Vettel currently feels u touchable in that team. Vettel sees his best chance of beating Schuey is copying him. He's a stone cold killer, every top sportsman is. Sure he likes Kimi but I bet Riccardo was his choice. A nice compliant No. 2, a wingman who exists only to help him win WC No. 4, 5,6.......;

Assuming that turns out to be true, it will mean that Red bull will be run the same way Lotus, Mercedes, and Ferrari presently are, with a clear Number 1 and Number 2 driver. I don't see any reason for outrage.

You're absolutely right Steve those teams have that exact structure and if anything Webber was allowed the biggest challenge to Seb than those team's number 2's especially in the case of Massa and Rosberg. What if Ricciardo proves to be quicker than Seb like he is in the simulator? Interesting.

Know they stay loyal to their programme but this kid isn't quite ready I feels to warrant a top car.

Time will tell if I'm wrong but I feel this is more to do with keeping a harmonious team and keeping momentum. They'll be there next year but will Ricciardo keep the red bull machine points ticking along as well as webber has ? Hmmm who knows could be a missed opportunity for a great pairing of alonso /vettel or raikkonen / vettel

Hmmm... not sure about this. I don't think he could get much more out of the Toro Rosso. He doesn't make huge mistakes and generates good pace. He may not be freakingly quick like Vettel / Hamilton, but here is his chance to prove that he is a 'smart' driver like Alonso, Button and Raikkonen. I'm not expecting him to win the championship next year, but I am expecting him to outperform Grosjean, Massa(if he stays... :-)) and Perez and perhaps contend with Rosberg. Yes, he is in a Red Bull car, but it is a different car and it will take him some time. We will see him on the podium at some stage next year, perhaps a win.

No disrespect to Dan, Australia or any other up-and-coming drivers for that matter...

Can't help but feel disappointed.

No one gives a toss about the Jr programme except for those running it or involved in it.

Real talents scream out loud by themselves, without having some funky and artificial environments thrusting them upwards into places where they do not deserve to be.

Once again, no skin off Dan's nose. I would have been equally disappointed had it been Hulkenburg.

With such rich casting of 'known' talented drivers, and with this golden era nearing sunset, this was one of the last opportunities to see them go head to head in equal environment, without having outside factors like chassis and engine determine who is the best.

With so much disparity between teams financial situation and performance, there is a side of me as a F1 fan that simply cannot tolerate it anymore.

Number of race seats that can ACTUALLY challenge for the championship is always limited in any given year. This has always been the case. And for once, it seemed as if we might be blessed with a bumper harvest season where they were occupied by known talents.

Had RB and Ferrari filled the #2 seat with someone substantial, It would have been the most memorable season, despite how the on-track action would have panned out.

Unfortunately, we now have to resort to 'PLAN B' which is to think long and hard about how to artificially turn the championship into an exciting spectacle.

If Vettel bags it again, there would be a never-answered 'what-ifs' as to his true ability.

As long as F1 is under the guise of 2 championships, the split interests will always make the other side suffer.

If only more emphasis was placed on constructors championship, and teams acted as if they cared about that only... Then as a natural by-product we have a better chance of knowing who was the best driver that year.

End of rant.

I just wanted to see another year of the muddy stuff a la Alonso-Hamilton and Senna-Prost.

What you said is exactly what the Hamilton fan club wanted, they don't want Kimi to go to Redbull and get absolutely destroyed by Vettel hence proving clear as day Vettel is the best on the grid, instead funnily enough they were all saying 'oh bring in Ricciardo otherwise whats the point of the young driver program' they got their wish and they will continue to use the car excuse for Seb winning and secretly hope for the bonus of Ricciardo out performing Seb. The facts are clear though Newey cars are overrated and drivers like Kimi couldn't win the title in 1 of them for years nor could Webber, Vettel would automatically be the title favourites if he signed for Ferrari next season and why? Because the experts all know deep down he is the best in F1 right now.

The best driver in F1 right now is still waiting to win a Grand Prix starting from below P3. All the other world champions on the grid have done it at least once. Kimi has done it 2 times after his come back!

I think if Kimi had gone to Redbull he would be the one to destroy Vettel, and When Kimi was driving Adrian Newey's McClarens he didnt have the total reliability that Vettel enjoys or Kimi would have won in 2002 & 2005 making him a 3 times world champion a la Vettel

Statistically, I believe you, or anyone else, would find the occurances of issues (compromising package potential, regardless of driver) with Mark Webber's car, compared to the occurances of such issues with Sebastian Vettel's car, improbable.

You'll find out just how fast Webber is/was next year when Ricciardo looks way ordinary and Mark takes pole at Le Mans, in F1 today on raw 1 lap pace the only 2 drivers that are faster than Webber are Vettel and maybe Hamilton, this Ricciardo is not a kid he will be 25 next year by that time Vettel and Alonso were multiple world champions and he's got to prove his talent or fast end up like Kovalainen.

Mark Webber has often qualified a few hundredths off Seb- he is certainly no slouch.. I think Daniel will take a while to be that good and even longer to learn racecraft..Something Mark has bucket loads of.

Silverstone 2013 2nd, Malaysia 2013 2nd, Monaco 3rd. China is only race he hasn't been in the points this year.

Alonso and Ferrari show us that you need to have both drivers consistently score points....and a massive part of Red Bull having 3 consecutive Constructors Championship is the fact that Webber scores points and keeps the team at the front.

Webber has had his demons, but I'm sick of people saying he hasn't got it and shouldn't be there....frankly I think he's been disillusioned since 2010 when he should've won the Championship, but the team went at supported Vettel instead and that set the slide in motion.

There have been a lot of great drivers in F1 who never won a championship, Webber counts among them. You don't negotiate a contract directly with the owner of Red Bull if you dont have a bit of talent.

He lost the 2010 championship with spinning in Korea 2010 when he was in the lead. Then following it up with a poor qualifying in Abu Dhabi, where Seb was the underdog to win the championship. But again, he must have had Red Bull do something to his car on purpose so it span out, and then qualify poorly?

Whenever Seb finished 1st, Webber should have been 2nd. Every time. And vice versa. They have the fastest car... He had a few gremlins with his car, but probably due to his weight and height, which Newey has said it's REALLY difficult to fit a F1 car design around someone that big. His ideal driver would be 1.6m and 65kg...

I think some of us wanted some surprise about the drivers market, but I fell that nothing else will happen, I mean, Red Bull choice was the easiest one to maintain their current situation, Ferrari is saying they want to keep Massa and they have been talking too much about Alonso's abilities just to get a top driver near him, they are too political. So nothing will happen, Ricciardo to Red Bull, Massa in Ferrari and Kimi in Lotus.

Ferrari? I know its unlikely, but I think Kimi seriously wants to leave Lotus (without James Allison)...Would hate to see such a talent in a slow car, and I think Ferrari might be slow next year, but still faster than Lotus.

Wooohoooo, congratulations to Dan. I cannot imagine how he must be feeling. Man, he just got himself a seat in F1, Not only that but he got himself a seat with the team that is the best, the most coveted by drivers including Lewis, Kimmi and Alonso.

I imagine that smile of Dan's won't be going away any time soon. He is such a good ambassador for us Aussies.

I have no idea of how good or great Dan will be but he will have a go and have the best chance anyone could ask for.

I recon that now most of the talk will about Ferrari, in particular, Felipe Massa, seeing as this has now been anounced, so it will be interesting to see how this places them under pressure. But I would be very interested to know who's next in line for Ricciardo's seat at Toro Rosso. Does anybody have any knowledge on this?

Congrats to DR and RBR for giving a young driver a chance instead of splashing the big bucks!!! It's great to see a team who back their youth policy and next season will have 2 drivers they have nurtured since a young age. It will be interesting to see who gets the STR second seat and who the next young driver redbull will promote will be although I suspect it's gonna be de costa. I really hope DR exceeds expectations and challenges SV next year. Best of Luck mate!!!

Daniel is such a nice guy how can one not wish him well! We won't really know just how good he is for a while until he settles in the team and get's up to speed in the car, but he's young and I daresay a quick learner. Next year it's all change for everyone with new car characteristics to learn. It would be interesting if he proves to be just as fast as Vettel, because if that proves to be the case then sparks are bound to fly. - Oh! I do hope so.

Actually if Vettel was "managing the team" he would have hired Kimi, a wellcoroven world champion he knows that he would beat and further proving whos number 1 in F1, Seb has more to lose than gain teamed up Ricciardo who is probably faster than old Kimi anyway.

I also agree that he doesn't have as much to say about the choice - even if some believe he does.

RBR has hired Vettel to drive and be the face of their brand in this sport. That investment is worth protecting. So it's not necessarily Vettel that's trying to make it cozy for himself. It may just happen to be a matter of the team wanting Vettel to be the face and the team leader around who the team is built.

In any case, we've seen plenty of fun times with Webber giving Vettel some jabs. A sign that they are at least trying to keep Vettel honest.

They would evenly match each other and that is certainly gonna be good for the team.

And yes.. do you even think Kimi gives a damn if Vettel manages to beat him consistently? As much as he is a popular winner he is also a good loser. Accepts the fact that other drivers can be quicker than him and does not allow anything to get in his head.

And I think, the Lotus E21 is the problem with Kimi not being quick on a Saturday. And he's admitted that Grosjean is quicker all the time apart from certain race weekends where he had the upper hand on Set up. If he would have got that Redbull seat, we would have seen him consistently fighting for pole.

And Sujith, to be clear - I'm not saying Vettel will wipe the floor with Kimi. But I'm clearly saying Kimi would not wipe the floor with Vettel. And what tends to happen here is that this seems to be the favored view that Vettel would stand no chance as if he's some rookie not someonw who's 1 cup short of a lovely 4-piece tea set.

What you are saying is true. Redbull are looking at this Long -Term. Kimi just has 2 or 3 seasons top left in him.

Who knows... he might even chuck the idea of driving next year too...

Kimi has always said, the guy who gets the most number of points at the end of the year deserves the championship.

I respect your opinion and all that. But I don't agree to comments saying Vettel will wipe the floor with Kimi when he's in Redbull. All I am saying is, Kimi deserves a faster car to show he's still got it. It is foolish to compare the 2, yes. But what I am saying is, he's no slouch... nobody's gonna wipe the floor with Kimi that's for sure!

Vettel is soon to be 4 time WDC. May I suggest that it is Alonso's or Kimi's responsibility to show they deserve the privilege to drive along side him in the same team.

Also a solid argument can be made to ensure he has #1 treatment regardless of who is in #2 car and team mate choice. He's the most successful driver on the grid please remember. I know it may be hard fact to swallow for some, but it is a fact. With thay distinction come certain perks he likely should feel entitled to. Alonso feels he is entitled to them at Ferrari, I am sure Kimi feels same way at Lotus. Yet it is not correct for the #1 driver in F1 right now to not demand likewise?

Sebee, it's true that Vettel obviously has some pull in the team as any WC should but honestly your comment :-

"Alonso’s or Kimi’s responsibility to show they deserve the privilege to drive along side him in the same team."

Is a complete toss.!! .. The biggest pipe dream in the history of all posts.

Do you honestly believe what you posted or you just fishing?.. Alonso and Raikkonen have nothing to prove to anyone in F1 as they are the most respected drivers in the paddock.

Alonso and Raikkonen were voted best drivers last year ahead of Vettel- by team principals and by their peers despite him winning his third title. Vettel despite all his success ( obviously deserved) is sadly not mentioned amongst the greats for a reason.

If he does want to be "mentioned in the same breath" as these greats he needs to race against them..but I can just imagine Sebs behind the scenes comments :

Horner :- We're considering hiring Raikkonen

Sebastian :- (in tears) - you can do that !!!- I will tell Helmut

That I won't race if he joins ! He's already beating me in a Lotus for f/sake!!

I'm not fishing. I'm simply putting forward a point of view, because I'm sick of this Kimi and Alonso love in. Sure, they are the senior guys in this class, and deserve the respect of their pears and fans. However, I'm tired of this "Vettel would be worried, or not comfortable, or not able" to face their presence.

Kimi is 33. Alonso 32. Vettel 26. Are we comparing drivers with more seasons under their belts? It's the same story as few articles back when the Vettel vs. Prost comparison was brought up in a post. In your mind you're looking at Prost over his entire carrier. Vettel hs been here only 1/2, maybe even 1/3 of this F1 carrier.

Same with Kimi and Alonso. What do they have left in them? 2 or 3 seasons maybe? Vettel has what left? 10 seasons? You can't make such a comparison at this point unless you go back to Kimi at 26 and Alonso at 26, and you can can clearly and easily conclude Vettel is way better and has achieved way more while facing way fircer competitors. This is what many here fail to see and grasp.

RBR/Vettel package is clever and fast, but are you telling me Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, Lotus aren't throwing the kitchen sink at trying to stop him and RBR? Has Schumacher faced such competition and pressure at such young age? How is Vettel handling this?

Come on, credit where credit is due. At this point Vettel is collecting WDC. He doesn't need votes of the paddock as recognition of respect and admiration. That will come when he's in his 30s with 2 seasons to go like Alonso or Kimi.

Does Vettel not have more WDC than Alonso or Kimi? Soon perhaps more than both of them combined? Is there not an instance where for every act where Vettel is given special treatment Alonso is given even more?

Vettel steals a win from Webber, Alonso has his team mate moved over for wins.

Vettel sticks up a finger, Alonso makes his Bull horns - no longer allowed due to association with RBR.

Look, I admire Vettel's achievements as much as Alonso's. The reason I posted what I posted is that I find the Alonso and Kimi love-in somewhat funny. Often fans choose to see certain drivers one way, others another way - while in reality they are all quite similar.

For example, why do you assume that Vettel wouldn't feel comfortable with "greats" like Alonso or Kimi, when in fact I could put forward a good case that Alonso and Kimi would not feel comfortable with a "great" who's their junior?.

Where you accuse me Vettel worship, I could accuse you of Vettel envy.

You see my point?

Really, balanced view is needed. I'm not saying that mine is balanced here. But I sometimes find the need to point out the other side to try and restore some balance.

By the way....there is no proof Vettel has demanded anything let me remind everyone. Where as there is clear proof of the astonishing lengths Ferrari go to in accommodating Alonso for example. Yet everyone is googoo gaagaa over Alonso while talking down Vettel for at best same level of infraction as Alonso has demonstrated in demanding clear status and walking over Massa - proven WDC contender when given support by team.

In 10-15 years time, there will be a new generation of champion drivers, and the way things are going Vettel will be ranked among the greats along with Prost, Senna and Schumacher. Unless Alonso, Kimi and Lewis win more titles they will be remembered as good, but not Great!

Remember out of the current generation, Vettel is younger and the scary thing is he's getting better and better, so imagine in another 5 years???

Despite Vettel winning 3 world championshipns in a row, Most F1 experts would say that Fernando, Lewis and Kimi are the true great drivers in F1 while Vettel is just a good driver in a special car with adrian newey genious behind him

The boys at Autosport are making the obvious point that the iceman has all the charisma of a baked bean [OK, slight exaggeration, but you get the drift] and Daniel will be a better promotional fit for Red Bull which, after all, is primarily in the energy drink business.

the image presented for Kimi is a bull's eye for the core target market of Red Bull; Daniel is a nice guy, could be fast; based on those two criteria, Ricciardo does NOT have the street-cred of the core XXX Red Bull consumer stage puppies.

So, we'll see how it goes.

And they failed to get the faster driver.

But then again, Dieter has got a record of good moves, even if I can't tell what he's doing.

Vettel is barely two years older than Dan and I suspect in 10 years time given that he'll still be younger than Webber is now he'll be thinking along the Schumacher lines and considering extending his career well into his 40s.

I agree with Hamilton - not through lack of talent or being too old but because he's likely to have gone into a career off track where his advisors promote him, possibly music or something.

Raikonen, Alonso, Button - true they'll likely move on to tv careers or other sportscar formulas within 5 years, though you never know with the increasing fitness of some of these guys a career into their 40s doesn't sound ludicrous anymore.

And he'll actually be 38. That is still an are in which drivers can be competitive. As personally, I think today's younger drivers will be competitive for longer into their careers. Training methods have improved, they're in better shape than they ever have been, the cars are safer (so less chance of a bad accident, but also more chance that they will continue to push the limit when they are older and not thinking of the risks that could ruin their lives after F1).

Whether or not the likes of Hamilton and Vettel will still be motivated at that age to compete is a very good question.

This whole process has been a bit strange. Why string out a young driver like Ricciardo like that if you werent actually looking around for something better? I think Horner and Newey really wanted Raikkonen in there to take some of the power away from Helmet, but now they are working with two of his protoges and there's nothing they can do about it. Chritian must have been grinding his teeth when he wrote that press release.

Erm no he doesn't he was actually forced out of Mclaren because he could no longer produce a championship winning car that would be reliable and even at Redbull his efforts looked distinctly average until a certain Vettel joined the team, if Newey went to Mercedes or back to Mclaren tomorrow I doubt he could produce a dominant car, I'd rather have Rory Byrne producing these solid championship contenders like the F2001-F2007, I'm sure the Ferrari and Mercedes will be as quick or quicker than Redbull next year but Vettel will be the difference yet again.

I agree on many levels but politics were surely part of this decision. Look at Helmet's comments before Spa about a statement, then a couple of days later he was forced to eat his words.

Dan is a good choice but Horner has been fighting since day one to run that team. I could see him and Newey arguing for example that Dan can wait a year while he gets used to the new car regulations, you don't want to expose a rookie to the pressures of a front running team when everyone is learning the new formula AND perform at the highest level at the same time. In that regard Dan would have been in a lot safer working environment but now the pressure is truly on. Pick up the new rules, perform at the highest level, gel with the team and engineers. No room for error at Red Bull with Hamilton/Rosberg at Merc with an atom bomb engine. Raikkonen made sense in a lot of ways but Helmet won, lol.

Of course, I like to see Kimi in either Red Bull or Ferrari, competing with Vettel or Alonso in similar cars.

But reading between the lines in Adrian Newey's comments suggests that Red Bull wants a driver who can develop to a level that surpasses the known level of an experienced driver which apparently RB is not quite satisfied with to pair with Vettel.

Unless Kimi can now show he has the raw speed to beat his team mate consistently, I have a feeling that his chance of joining Ferrari again may not be as high as we would like it.

One does not have to be rude in an intelligent discussion. It reflects on the character of the poster.

Can anyone really believe that the sole aim of choosing Dan is to justify RB Young Drivers Program, even ignoring the possibility of losing the Manufacturer Championship and the many millions of dollars in prize money? You may have read that RB and Vettel recognized the threat from Mercedes with their two excellent drivers in 2014.

All you quoted are hearsay. You believe what you have been told without thinking?

What is important is the latest in qualifying. Of late, the table appears to have been turned. Unlike me being shortsighted, I hope you have noticed also.

I am not for or against any drivers. I personally quite like Kimi and constantly hope that he can do even better and can further improve on his speed. Although as you have rudely stressed that I am shortsighted, unlike you I am not seeing things without deeper thinking.

Qualis 8/3 Kimi also - even for those who think Romain is quick- he is being comprehensively taken apart - as you'd expect for the Kimster.

Red Bull chose Ricciardo to justify their young driver program- which also justifies Markos existence at RBR. Daniel is a good driver- but he's not a great yet-As for Newey/ Horner- it is widely suggested that they wanted Raikkonen but Marko wanted Daniel..

Still longer term it makes more sense but as far as 2014/5 goes its a risk they take as many have suggested including James..

Ladies, there is no need for me to defend or otherwise what I perceived as the reasoning behind Red Bull's decision.

However, as a racing fan, you should know that no matter how good a racing car is, there is still the need of an extraordinary driver to drive it fast. The faster a driver is, the faster the car can go, up to, of course, a limit.

What teams are looking for are the best available drivers who can extract the most speed from their cars. Some say that Alonso is worth half a second in lap time over other less outstanding drivers in F1. If a driver is not quicker than his team mate in qualifying more times than not, it means he cannot extract as much speed from the car as his team mate.

Consistency is easier to learn than natural speed. Senna was fast but suffered many crashes in the beginning. He gained consistency later on and became one of the greatest drivers.

A driver may gather many points out of consistency. But If he has already reached his maximum speed potential, he may not be able to gain more points than he is doing now with consistency. How do we judge if he has reached his maximum speed potential? Just compare his performance in qualifying with his team mate.

People who only take a look at the points table or number of point scoring finishes may be taking a too simplistic a view.

Great chance for Ricciardo. He certainly shows promise. Why not give a young driver with promise a shot in a top car? He's going to have plenty of experienced people around him to help guide his development.

One can definitely see a political angle in this. Horner clearly wanted Kimi. Marko clearly wanted Ricciardo. We see who won out. So while Horner is officially Team Principal, what this really means at Red Bull apparently is Team Manager. Team Principals get the final call on decisions like this. And while I'm sure Horner has plenty of authority over the operations of the team that someone like, say, Marko doesn't have, this just goes to show that it is actually Dietrich Mateschitz's team, and he will often take Marko's word over Horner's.

I wonder how much longer Horner will put up with this. He's about to lead his team to it's 7th and 8th consecutive championships. There is simply know doubt that his ability as a manager has played a role in this. And yet he is clearly not the one who gets to make some decisions that are essential to the functioning of the team- as if he hasn't earned enough credibility to do so. If I'm Ferrari right now, I am going to him on Thursday in the Monza paddock with a contract offer.

well said and i hope Kimi moves to McLaren. favorite driver to my favorite team and i hope horner start looking around as well. the top idiot at mclaren and his counterpart at ferrari need to be replaced

As much as I wanted to see Kimi at RBR why would you put a team like RBR at the risk of getting to the end of 2015 and Vettel's current contract and him going elsewhere for a new challenge after 3-5 WDC and 7 years with the one employer/team AND Kimi at 35-36 likely retiring.

Not only was it reported by lots of people that Horner wanted Kimi (and in F1, when something blows up, there is usually some fire where the smoke is coming from), but you could see it in the way he was making public comments.

If Horner was rolled on the choosing Ricciardo (and I’m not convinced he was) I don’t see him being in a different position to Domenicali. Do you think he’d ever roll LdM on a driver decision?

Do you think Brawn / Fry would ‘win’ if Lauda, Wolff and the Merc board had a different opinion?

Whitmarsh is in a bit of different position with no other big personality in the wings at McLaren right now, but when Ron Dennis was more involved whose opinion would have carried more weight?

He’s not a team principal but it would seem Mateschitz repeatedly overruled Marko over Webber.

The traditional role of team principal no longer holds for the big end of town – there’s too much at stake to ride on the decisions of just one person.

It would be a healthy situation for RBR if Horner and Marko were chucking darts at each other across the boardroom table over the second seat decision. I’d like to think Mateschitz would have been pleased with robust debate. Once the decision was made though, the darts go back in the pouch and they get on with it. It’s what professionals do.

1) LdM: Good point. But he shows signs of starting to recuse himself from the running of the team, aside from making public statements every now and then telling them to get their act together. He has also been willing to turn the team's decision making over to someone else in the past. (Todt) So if he sees the team in big enough trouble from a management perspective, I could see him bringing in someone like Horner and giving him free reign.

2) Mercedes: I seriously doubt Toto Wolff has any impact on driver and competition decisions. He is the business guy. Before they made these management changes, I would say that Ross did have free reign over such decisions. But now Mercedes is moving away from the Team Principal model and is going with "rule by committee", with Paddy Lowe coming in to join this Lauda, Wolff, etc. group. So really, the Team Principal role won't even exist at Mercedes probbably after this year.

Whitmarsh has free reign over McLaren. Boullier has free reign over Lotus. This still exists. And if I'm Christian Horner and I have had the type of success that I've had in managing a team, despite having to put up with all of the crap happening in the background to make my job harder, I would be looking for some other opportunities. It's not just the driver decision. You've got Marko actively playing politics with Webber- one of the employees of the team, who is responsible for helping the team to directly succeed. You've got a bratty driver who has demonstrated he will not follow team orders when they conflict with his interests.

I said nothing about blaming Vettel. I don't know if you are a fan of his, and if so are way to insecure. You need to re-read what I said. I simply stated fact. I didn't say he was wrong or unjustified in doing so. Just that this sort of thing is a headache that a Team Principal can do without.

It's really annoying talking with fans who take words out of context. And it seems to happen often with F1 fans.

Hamilton wouldn't follow team orders at Hungary 2007 whilst been told to let Alonso through in qualifying, Webber publically says he wouldn't help Seb win the title in the past and followed through on his threats in Brazil last year, its how the game is won mate don't blame Seb because he's a better driver than Webber.

Called it! They kinda had to sign a young gun, it had been so long since they did.. Even though I'm not sure Dan has what it takes to be a top driver. But they probably just want to mold him into a very solid number 2- no pun intended.

Anyway, let's hope Dan can challenge the big champ, Mark never really made Seb sweat for his championships. I do expect Seb to beat Ricciardo fairly easily though

Well Mark did kind of make Vettel sweat a lot in 2010 given he was ahead for most of the championship and he was giving Vettel all kinds of trouble in the first half of 2012. I think Marks competitiveness has been lost in the memory of 2011 and this year which have been more clear Vettel dominance.

I think Dan is going to have the edge over Webber in quali as drivers tend to be faster in their 20s but I haven't seen Dan display any of the smart racing that Webber is capable of (admittedly Webber has had some awful races as well - his legacy being undone by lack of consistency).

You seem to care for numbers, which is a respectable view on performance. But 2010- and this is 3 years ago now- is arguably the only year Mark made Vettel sweat. We both agree he was nowhere in 2011 compared to Vettel. We also agree that Vettel benefitted the most from the changes made on the RB8 in 2012. But by the end of that year-which is by your logic the point where nothing else matters- Mark was 6th in the championships trailing Seb by as much as 102 points. I'm sorry, but that's not making your teammate sweat. Vettel is probably taking the WDC again this year, Mark is again far off. You might disagree, but with that great a car and such a magnificent team, to be fairly easily defeated by your teammate 3 years in a row is not good enough, i.e.Mark didn't really make Seb sweat- with the exception of 2010.

Webber had the sniff of the championship in 2010 due to the reliabilty of Seb's car and also a few rookie mistakes he didn't fight for the championship on merit, lets look at some facts:

Bahrain: Vettel comfortably leading then the spark plug failure dropping him to 4th.

Australia: Again leading and on course for win until brake failure and a retirement.

Spain and Monaco: Vettel raced with a cracked chassis and hence wasn't competitive enough to win.

Turkey: the infamous clash with Webber, not blaming anyone here but even if it was Seb's fault he proven to be quicker hence why he was trying to pass Mark and the end result was no points for Seb and a podiun for Mark.

Silverstone: A bad start for Seb from pole ended up with Hamilton's front wing slicing the rear tyre of Vettel and no points and a gifted win for Webber, yes not bad for a number 2 driver and all that...

Hungary: Whilst leading comfortably behind the safety car a petty drivr through for Seb again gifts Webber a win he didn't deserve.

Spa: A rookie mistake by Seb T-boning Button at the bus stop whilst trying to pass him, but the fact was Seb was arguably the fastest on the track and certainly faster than webber but Webber steals another podium but can't challenge for the win due to lack of talent just like Spa this year.

Korea: the biggest loss for Seb of them all, an easy win robbed by an engine failure even made Alonso giggle like a evil doctor.

So after all that for Seb to win the title was a miracle but also underlined his talent to negate all that and still come out on top at Abu Dhabi whilst Alonso and Webber faltered. Webber certainly didn't challenge for the title on merit and its clear over the 5 years together with Seb Mark is nowhere near the driver Vettel is.

Vettel actually finished 7th in GBR in 2010, largely b/c of a Safety Car. Without that, he likely would've been lapped, and gained no points. 7th was 6 pts, so w/o those points he would've finished 2nd in the DWC.

Alonso was severely hurt by the SC, b/c he had a drive-thru penalty, and he didn't serve it until the SC had bunched up all the cars, which sent him way back. He ended up 14th and no points.

I think we can agree to disagree here. I'm not arguing that Mark is or ever was a faster driver than Seb. But the plain fact is Vettel didn't run away with the title over and above Webber in 2010, and he didn't outperform Webber for the first half of 2012 either.

You can count an equal if not greater number of failures on Mark's car than Seb's - so if you want to look at facts you can tally them up and see how many KERS failures, wheel failures and general power-train related failures they've both had - and Mark has not been served particularly well.

And as for 'rookie errors' well - they're still errors. Being the 'best' driver isn't about being the fastest over one lap. If it was then we'd probably have a 4 time championship for someone like Lewis.

The final points tally is what matters. Call it luck, call it fate, call it racing talent, call it a mixture of engineering and style and competitive spirit, call it what you like.

My reply was simply to the poster saying Mark had never made Vettel sweat for his titles. Which is clearly false. If Vettel wasn't sweating it in 2010 he's not human and Webber was ahead of him all year. In 2012, Webber stuck with Red Bull rather than take the Ferrari drive as he didn't want to upset his chances of staying ahead of Vettel, as he was clearly doing a better job with that particular Red Bull (until Newey and co got on top of the diffuser design).

Mark is neither faster nor more competitive than Vettel - I didn't argue that he was. I think you've just jumped in to defend Vettel from his driving errors and car failures (whilst ignoring Mark's failures and allowing him to retain his errors on demerit) which wasn't what I was talking about, or the poster before me was talking about.

Points are facts. They aren't always the whole truth, but they are a marker.

Jenson outscored Lewis over their career in the same car. By that measure Jenson made Lewis 'sweat' his position as the superior driver. I'm not suggesting Jenson is the faster driver than Lewis, he's clearly not, and says as much himself, but points are points. Momentum is momentum. Luck is luck.

And Mark made Vettel sweat in 2 years about his chances. Sure in 2011 and this year Vettel steamrolled over Mark in total and utter domination. I guess my point is, we tend to judge Mark's performance on 2011 and this year, whilst conveniently forgetting his regular wins in 2010 and better all round competitiveness at the start of 2012.

Can Ricciardo show the same challenge as the 2010/2012 Webber? Or will it be closer to 2011/2013 Webber? I don't know. I suspect the latter, but I'll wait and see the points.

Well something had to come good for the Aussies didn't it? There hasn't been much cheer for in Australian sport this recently especially on the Cricket field. I believe Daniel will do well at Red Bull and will provide a stiffer challenge to Vettel than some people think.

i am always amazed at the depth of knowledge some posters have when it comes to analysing the team and the decision making process.

is anyone really privy to the thoughts and discussions that took place during this period of speculation? c'mon, it is all just speculation. redbull would have the intimate details of every lap that ricciardo has driven for them at their fingertips and on top of that they would have a detailed understanding of his potential,his character and his ability to learn and produce.

IMO the hoo har surrounding raikonnen was all just a smoke screen to create some disharmony and aggravation to competitors. maybe there was a modicum of interest but it clearly didn't necessarily influence their ultimate decision. raikonnen is bordering on 'old' in F1 terms and i believe he is vastly overrated. the ricciardo decision is great. great for the team and great for the fans. i want to see new exciting drivers enter the business. they are the future and without a team/s willingness to take chances where will it all lead?

Before Kimi returned to F1 very few rated him. Now every team principal "rates him". He has pushed Lotus as high as 2nd since last year and probably one the best drivers both this year and last year. As most of his peers and former principals.

"i am always amazed at the depth of knowledge some posters"- Including those who know more than the record books and most drivers and team principals in the paddock. Kimi shuns the limelight and does not excited about wins because he's been there and done that and if he has a DNF the following race..the same people will say something stupid.He only interested come November and you can't blame him for that.. But calling him over rated is probably as meaningless as calling him unintelligent.

Everybody new that Marquez was going to be a star, a world champion even when he was just 18, now he's 20 and is shining there, the same was with Vettel, everybody new he was going to be a champion when he showed to be a magnificent driver even in Toro Rosso. But Daniel is 24! and anybody was talking about him before Mark's announcements.

Nevertheless, I think he will do a good job, but I'm not sure he can out qualify Vettel consistently.

I have to declare my bias as an Aussie.....well done DR! I know there will be plenty of discussion on this site and others questioning whether DR deserved this seat. Only time will tell. I for one hopes he throws a few cats amongst the pigeons and places his car right next to SV on the grid next year 🙂 He certainly has the one lap speed to do this, lets hope his race-craft develops a little more to be on the podium consistently. Well done Daniel and all the best!!

While this is certainly a shrewd move by RBR who have little to lose I'm still not so sure that RBR will be the team to be driving for next season. Seb will surely wipe the floor with his new teammate, the cars designed around him and any new driver will have a lot of adjusting to do to bed into a new setup.

So much is changing with the cars and I suspect there'll big a big advantage for one of the engine manufacturers for half of 2014, much as I'd like to see that advantage fall to Ferrari (especially if they manage to get Alonso & Kimi ) I think Merc are looking good engine wise which would leave McLaren looking pretty good seeing as they have spent most of this season working on next season(going by their results this year at least)

I think they should have taken Kimi. But Helmut said that for 2014, with the chaages coming they needed a driver that would do a lot of simulation work and be actively pushing for the car development outside the race weekends. Everyone knows Kimi refuses to sit in a simulator and he is not to be seen until the next race.

So in the end it is a sensible decision, even though I don't think Ric deserves a top seat.

I do think it's sad that most British 'journalists' and 'fans' comment with sour grapes like "they could not have anyone challenge Vettel so they picked Ric". The war has been over since 1945, seriously, get over it.

Anyone still claiming Vettel has to prove himself is clearly a fan of another driver and angry Vettel took their spotlight.

James - in your opinion, is Daniel significantly better than some of the earlier TR drivers such as Jamie and Seb Buemi? No one seems to have developed an argument to explain why Daniel is favoured over Jean-Eric either. Perhaps it is more of a personality issue and compatibility with Vettel rather than pace (not than Dan is slow).

Webber loves mixing it with the elite F1 drivers, it's the thing he'll miss most when he walks away as he has said in a few interviews. On that basis I doubt he would give up the chance to fight it out with the boys for the last few times in his life.

Good, the silly season can stop around Red Bull now. Ricciardo gets to try the number one team and Vergne gets another year with TR to hone his skills. If Daniel does not progress in 2014, they can bring in Vergne in 2015. Anyways, this frees a spot at TR and ends the internet speculation on Vettel's teammate.

From memory and happy to be corrected, MW is about 76kg and SV about 68kg.

My question is not so much about tenths in lap times due to weight as the cars all come up to a minimum weight with ballast, but it's that SV has had a ballast advantage over MW throughout their time together. SV I believe gets more to distribute in the car differently to MW due to height and weight differences.

Hoping for DR's sake, he is more SV's height and weight so the car is packaged more equally than has been the case for MW.

Congrats to Dan Im sure he will do a solid job. But will he do a world championship job- that is something I very much doubt.

James if Torro Rosso take on Antonio Felix Di Costa do you think Carloz Sainz Jnr will get a reserve drive at Red Bull or will it be TR?- I think he is the future champ at Red Bull Racing- I would be getting him a drive ASAP.

Good on you Dan. This is the dream isn't if? A youngster dreams if racing in F1 with a team / car that can win. Daniel must be on cloud nine. I am a big fan if him. Very fast youngster that hopefully will keep Vettel on his toes more than what Webber did in the last 2-3 years.

As Ricciardo is already a Red Bull driver and is loaned out to sister team Toro Rosso why can't he replace Webber immediately. This would allow him 7 or 8 races to gain experience with Red Bull and he would there fore be better prepared for season 2014.

I’am sure Webber would be willing to quit F1 immediately to help his countryman, plus he’s looking more and more disinterested since he announced his departure.

I watched the Horner and Newey interviews on youtube. They made references to Daniel's performance in the simulator - does this mean he has been working in the RBR simulator for sometime? Or are they inferring he was given a tryout in the simulator as part of the assessment process?

As an aside - the videos look like an attempt to answer/head off the obvious press questions which will come up this Thu / Fri - do you think it will work James?

Comparable by what measure... only a few tenth's a lap quicker in the same car? Right? There's a fair bit of evidence to support DR and his ability to outshine JEV a significantly high percentage of the time ( live timing) in qualy and race... Considering tyre deg, fuel load, and taking into account being behind another car. JEV seems smoother and seems to get better times and results in inclement weather, but ordinarily DR has better speed... and regularly. I would certainly not say DR is lucky or just comparable with JEV at the moment.

Speed in race or speed in qualifying?? Dominates Vergne in Qualifying, was 0.7 quicker at Silverstone, almost a second quicker at Nurburgring, 0.5 quicker at Hungry. Race speed is comparable because they're driving the same car. Riccirado is able to transcend his equipment in qualifying and get more out of it then what seems possible. His consistency and speed in the RB at the Silverstone test was also very good. I expect him to qualify very well next year and give himself the ability to win races.

Great news on Ricciardo 🙂 i know everyone would rather a proven contender in the seat but lets look at the positives. We have a new young driver with everything to prove in a top seat. I find this exciting. It adds to the excitement to look forward to next yr 🙂 Someone fresh in a top Car. James do you agree? lets look at a the positives! 😛

I think the timing of this could be just right for Dan. With the big changes to the regulations next year, I can think of no better chance to give one of the most successful F1 drivers of the modern era a run for their money.

They will both need to adapt to a different style with the engines, KERS, potential tyre changes etc. It should level the playing field a bit and I'm hoping he can at least give Seb a good challenge.

On the face of it, he's missing a bit of the Mark Webber Mongrel though, and while I'm sure that will make his bosses happy, I'd like to see him get fired up and be less of the nice guy!

You see, and there goes Red Bull limiting itself to a pool of drivers that looks good (or can talk the talk) at the age of 17/18, losing out on drivers that might mature slightly later or who simply don't hit the Red Bull radar through racing in a more obscure junior series.

Felix da Costa is not going to win FR3.5 this year. Toro Rosso is a drive that ought to be going to somebody such as Robin Frijns.

I have been saying all along that this move makes sense for RBR. They already have a championship winning car and a three (4?) time driver champion. They simply don't need another #1 type driver. What more would that have given them? Dan is the right choice and I wish him all the best of luck.

Happy for Dan, though I reckon a Seb-Kimi partnership would have been ideal for RB heading into a season of the biggest regulations change that modern F1 has witnessed. I guess Helmut and DM's desire to see the RB young driver program validated won out in the end.

Pretty excited from an Australian perspective. I really hope he shakes things up and performs. It's good to see an Australian picked up by a top team as young as he is as well. I remember reading articles from 2002 saying that Webber would be the next Schumacher and everyone should be getting behind him because he could qualify pigdog cars in the top ten consistently. Then he made the rookie move of going to Williams instead of Renault just before their Alonso championships and blew his chances of being in peak form at a competitive team. Not that I've ever rated him as highly as the champions of the last 10 years but it's good to see Riccardio do what Webber failed to do.

Well, they say they haven't produced a world beater since Vettel but I'm not so sure what's so "world-beater" about Ricciardo, to be honest. Vergne has had better races (indeed, if Vergne could sort out qualifying then he'd be well ahead of Ricciardo in my opinion).

Ricciardo has finished in the points 10 times over the last 2 season, JEV 6. Sure JEV has 3 more points over all but when you're scrapping for points in the bottom of the top 10 than finishing there on more occasions seems more important to me. But you hit the nail on the head, JEV cant qualify, hardly something you want from a top driver. Qualifying is where the driver shows their raw speed, something Ricciardo dominates Vergne in. The TR is not great on race day so Ricciardo is not able to capitalise fulling on his ability and inevitably slides down the order after having transcended his cars ability in quali making it look like he cant drive so well. Meanwhile Vergne makes up a few places from low on the grid and obviously people like you think he has done a great job.

To be honest I do not care about Red Bull`s young driver programme, promise for the future etc. I wanted to see the best driver possible in the best car going against a four time WCH in an epic RACE in 2014, and that would have been Kimi Raikkonen. That would have bee good for F1, having finally two of the four greatest drivers in the same team. So, I am disappointed, regardless all the best for Ricciardo.

" ... it’s very much a medium to long term view that we’re taking in developing him ...". Interesting. I think that means, to begin with he may play a supporting role to Vettel. Fair enough. After all Ricciardo will be driving alongside a Four Time World Champion in 2014.

At least after Abu Dhabi, RBR should bring in Ricciardo in to the team. By that time they would have won the constructors title so there is no risk.

Ok, Perez had a completely different season once he signed for McLaren. Perhaps he started feeling the pressure even before moving to McLaren. Let's see what DR will do for the rest of the season. Can this be an indicator for the next season?

As I understand it Vettel only has a 1 year extension for 2014. This leaves him able to then leave RBR, if they turn out to be underperforming next year, and perhaps get a drive with Ferrari.

With this in mind I suspect Vettel will not be called No.1 next year, but they will continue to support him over his team mate as they have always done with Webber. So when 2015 rolls around and they grab Alonso or Hamilton they can keep Ricciardo as the patsy.

He is a driver for the team which spends the most, per season, in F1 and has the most successful car designer in F1 history churning out dominant car after dominant car for him.

To have such a prolonged advantage in F1 is rare but to have had it at his age - 22 years old to date - is a first in F1.

And now he has Ricciardo as his new teammate, who seems like a decent bloke and a solid driver. But his performance in F1 so far does not suggest that he is a future top level driver. It's also reasonable to assume that he has a clear "no.2" clause written into his contract.

One can only hope that in 2014, Red Bull slips to third/fourth in the pecking order and we get to see what Vettel is made of when having to scrap it out in the pack. The evidence so far suggests he is highly error prone.

Red Bull/Newey dominance is also bad for the sport. Particularly in an era with a number of very good-to-superb drivers. Sadly, Newey's best period in his career has really skewed the statistics and titles in the favour of a driver who most rate as only the third-fourth best on the grid.

The appointment of a solid but unremarkable driver no.2 driver plays further into the hands of said third-fourth best driver on the grid.

Wikipedia entry under Daniel Ricciardo today. This is funny enough to be reserved.

Red Bull (2014)

On 2 September 2013 Ricciardo was revealed as the replacement for Mark Webber at Red Bull live on the Austrian television channel Servus TV. He will partner Sebastian Vettel (also known as 'crybaby') who is the current triple world champion and 2013 championship leader. Daniel will be the next Multi 21 victim after Mark Webber (Multi 21 Refers to an Incident when Mark Webber was instructed by his team to turn his engine and cruise to Victory at 2013 Malaysian GP, Vettel Subsequently decided it was "game on" and overtook Webber against his teams orders, Webber later publicly shamed Vettel on the Podium stating "As usual Seb will get Full Protection" and that Vettel was a "Quick Peddler".

The more the days go by the more I think Nico Hulkenberg will be joining the Scuderia next year. I also think it is also a possibility that Kimi could retire if that is the case. I think Kimi doubts the ability of Lotus to be in contention for the big prizes especially as they have lost James Allison to Ferrari. On a another note these new generation of drivers don't excite me at al. I include Ricciardo ,Hulkenberg and Perez in this as although they are probably going to be all very good drivers none of them seems to have that something special. I fear there are cracks beginning to appear in the F1 talent pool because of some of the pay drivers we now see in F1.

Sebee, stop confusing posts we are not talking about Prost now I already clearly defined why and your just digging a deeper hole for yourself.

-FA / KR had Michael Schumacher in a special Ferrari and special tyres when they were 26 and they quite often beat him- so please do not talk about age and "fierce competition"

- KR / FA are both competitive with Vettel now ! In slower cars. At 26 Raikkonen was untouchable. We all know the misfortune he had at Mclaren- )even Seb has reminded reporters of this on occasion)

- I rate Vettel as a top 4 driver and no one can really do more than that can they- until they run in the same equipment- but sadly that's not going to happen is it !

- do you think KR needs votes in the paddock ??- that's not what I suggested. They have respect for a reason!. Kimi of all drivers could care what anyone thinks- he could leave it tomorrow as one of the most sort after drivers.

-I great driver is not just about winning championships ( although that helps) - Any sport is about how you play the game. Guys who can drive at the limit without running into people or running off Kerbs / track- in cars that are not necessarily the fastest cars. A guy that leaves room on one corner only to beat you at the next!- A team mate that does "dog" you when you've slowed down- that's why he's not fan favourite- despite he's success. KR has a higher level if these attributes than any other driver - FA/LH& Seb are not quite so precise.

- these are the things that you fail to see Sebee he can win 10WC in the fastest car and team. He will always be a top racer- but to say he is better than anyone without him racing a champion-it's just not on is it

- FA/KR were riding on Michelin tires, and everyone knows the story there.

- KR was in a Newey McLaren MP4-20 in 2005, the year Ferrari seemed to do what McLaren did this year, go from fast in 2004 to barely in the points in 2005.

- KR has 1/2 of his wins in a Newey car but you give Kimi all the credit for the wins without Newey mention while I don't hear the end of "it's all Newey" at RBR.

- I understand the argument that it's important to win in different teams is liked by some. And Kimi has done that, although I remind you - not WDCs in different teams. Kimi went to Ferrari after Schumi's team pulled that car up by it's straps post 2005 to be 1 engine blow up shy of a WDC in 2006. So in 2007 Kimi walked into a perfect top performing package. Not sure how "amazing" such a feat is.

- I have argued that this WDCs in different teams argument is a two sided coin. Again, Kimi hasn't got a WDC in another team, and neither has Alonso, so I don't undertand how this can be held against Vettel for example.

RBR have not been fastest, and have had a hard go to win the WDC/WCC in 2010 and 2012 don't forget. Which helps my point. That is - It is nice to be Kimi and get handed a Newey MP4-20 and win 7, then go to Ferrari and get a top team competitive package. But how hard is it to stay on top for a period, to become a Legacy Team? To find the motivation to keep pushing, keep winning, keep steam rolling while the whole field treis to stop you? How long can you hold the edge? How long can you push for advantage? How easy is it to not be fastest, gut check, and work hard to become the fastest? You tell me this is easier than switching teams and walking into a WDC a la Kimi 2007? I say bullocks!

This brings me back to factual points. I don't care if Kimi cares about votes or not, if he's marketable or not.

I care about NUMBERS.

Kimi has 20 wins, 1/2 in a Newey McLaren. What you think he is, he became in Newey's car. Yet you give Kimi all the credit and none to Newey while calling out Vettel for getting all his achievements thanks to Newey. You can't have it both ways.

Red Bull have had the fastest car since 2nd half of 2009. ( only latter part of 2012 did Mclaren equal it or Ferrari later part of 2010)!!- everyone -except for you- knows that..it's like talking to a brick wall. I won't read your comments any more- you talk around the subject not address the points. Goodbye